


who are you, really?

by sp1deyson



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: M/M, i had the tags typed out and then my page reloaded, just not now im sorry, so i’m gonna do them
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-08-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:48:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,167
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25719853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sp1deyson/pseuds/sp1deyson
Summary: Harley keener is hopelessly infatuated with his vigilante partner, Spider-man. He also seems to be unraveling the secrets of social outcast Peter Parker. Also, spider-man just told the class his real identity, unless it isn’t actually spidey.
Relationships: Harley Keener/Peter Parker
Comments: 11
Kudos: 34





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> i had this so nice and everything but the page reloaded and at this point i’m just trying to upload. Thanks to parkner pals for the support! i’ll try to update within the next three days! <3

In Harley's extremely humble opinion, someone in a mask should not be as attractive as Spider-man is. I mean, Harley hasn't the slightest idea of what he looks like and yet, as punch lands on his faceplate startling him back into reality, he decided it would not be the best time to consider his colleague's jawline or his voice, or how he looks like his body was sculpted by the gods themselves, or his as-, right, focus on crime-fighting. Plus, who knows how old Spidey is? So Harley should tone it down a little. Plus, nothing helps with teenage hormones as much as punching some random thug.  
It always astounds him how in sync he and Spidey are. They rarely have to communicate verbally once they fight. They can get a brawl started, ended, and webbed in 10 minutes or fewer. It makes Harley wonder if they'd be friends as civilians.   
"Yo, Laddie, you good over there?" Spider-man questions, tilting his head to the side  
"Oh- I mean- uh- wait, what did you say?", Smooth, Keener, real smooth.  
"I asked if you were all right cause we might want to leave soon," he stated, "cause I can hear the police coming and I don't think they'd be too ecstatic about this," he said, waving at the webbed up crooks.   
Now that Harley isn't preoccupied, he can hear the sirens too. Tony would not be thrilled if he got arrested on a school night, especially if it was because of, well, whatever that was. 

"You know I love giving the NYPD the slip." He responded without sounding like he was a prepubescent boy, so that's a total plus.

"Yeah, it's too bad that you're no good at it," spidey answers, and Harley could hear him smiling.   
"Yeah, Yeah. but I could beat you in a race, and you know it." Harley retorts, which causes Spidey to just swing away, heading who knows where. "Catch me if you can!" he calls back to Harley, leaving him to scramble to get his footing.   
So, off Harley flew, chasing after a lot more than just winning a race.

"You cheated! The Bugle was right. You are a menace!" Harley says, still catching his breath. "You're just a sore loser, laddie," Spider-man says nonchalantly, sitting on the edge of the building they were on. Harley didn't recognize it, but it looked like a cathedral. An ornate one, at that. "So, do you have any idea where we are?" Harley asked as he flopped down next to spidey. "I'm not sure, but it's somewhere in manhattan. Water?" Spider-man asked,   
"Start bringing your own if you're going to beat me at a race," Harley says, tossing him the water bottle.

This isn't the first time Spidey had moved his mask up slightly on a roof, but Harley always got distracted by the bit of his face he got to see, his jaw, and his lips, and his few freckles. This was Harley's favorite part of the night, not just because he got ogle, but because they were so free now. Sometimes they would just enjoy each other's company. Some days, they would talk about nothing or everything. Anything Harley knew about the vigilante came from this time.

"Do you ever feel you're a curse?" Spidey inquired, startling Harley out of his thoughts. Spidey seemed to regret his admission though, saying, "Oh, uh, I mean, well-"  
"Not a curse," he started, cutting off spidey, "I felt like one hell of an inconvenience though." he paused, "penny for your thoughts?", he asked before taking another drink. 

"I-", he started, losing his normal façade of confidence, " I just feel like, whenever I'm in someone's life, they're lives immediately go downhill. And I know that sounds super conceited, but I can't help but feel like I'm the only constant in those situations. I feel like have a big cloud following me, and whenever someone becomes close, they get it too." He sounded so sure at the end like he pondered this regularly. Harley hadn't been expecting such a profound declaration, especially from someone so secretive. He found himself at a loss for words for a moment or two before—finally—responding.  
"I mean, you've saved so many lives. You took whatever caused the freaky arachnid thing and use it to do good. That doesn't sound like a cloud. My life has only gotten better with you in it, darling." Spider-man pondered this for a while, before responding, "You know spider-man, not my civilian self. And my civilian self is the problematic one. Spider-man is the savior of the city. My civilian self has destroyed too many people."Which, weren't they the same person? He was spider-man and his civilian self, right? But, what did Harley even know about him? Whatever spidey went through, whatever he did, he still can't be a bad person. Spidey risks his life day in and day out for the city, for people who do nothing but insult him. Spidey picked up on Harley's silence, saying, "I'm sorry did I overstep? you can just ignore that I said that, I, ugh, I'm so so sorry if I made it awkward"   
"No! I mean, you're fine I'm just thinking about how to respond." Harley rushed to say, "Cause, like, I don't know what you've been through, I just, I've been through stuff myself that made me feel like a burden. Like I was hurting someone because I was me, instead of someone else, I guess" He admitted.  
"Yeah, yeah, that makes sense," Spider-man admitted. The pair lapses into an awkward silence until Harley's curfew alarm goes off. "Alright, that's my cue laddie! see ya on the flip side!" Spidey says, giving a curt salute before hopping off the roof on a web. Leaving Harley alone on the rooftop, just like every other night. 

Harley found himself pondering their interaction when he was walking into school the next day. He always marveled at the schools once he walked in because midtown was the school of his dreams, and here he was, a student! He doubts its ever going to get old. Midtown was a place where he wasn't made fun of for answering too many questions right in class. Honestly, most people at Midtown think Harley is cool! Of course, there is peter parker, resident social pariah. From what Harley could tell, he was the equivalent of a ghost story, that each student added onto. The story seems to go like this, Peter Parker, a new student who hadn't gone to middle school with anyone else at the school, Came to Midtown with the highest score on the entrance exam since 1987, on a scholarship. He remained a loner for the first semester, but relatively unnotable. Then, his uncle died. He was close to his uncle since the kid seemed remarkably affected by his untimely death. Then, resident asshole, Brad Davis, started taunting the poor kid, saying he was "Doing shady shit, and it was his fault his uncle died.", which didn't sit well with Parker. Brad said something to Parker in the hall between 3rd and 4th period, which resulted in Parker throwing him into a door, denting the wood. Peter immediately realized this and started apologizing and trying to help him up, which was not well received from brad. Brad got a week of detention, and Parker had a 3-day suspension and had to check in with the guidance counselor twice a week. But, the student body of midtown, started watching him a little closer. Parker always seemed injured, only for it to be gone by the end of the day. He also was frantic in class, jumpy, and skipping more then he was actually in class. So the logical assumption was that he was in some shady shit. But, the nail in the coffin, was him leaving Liz alone at homecoming, solidifying him as a total asshole. So, almost everyone was cool at Midtown. As Harley slides into his chair, he notices that Parker walked in right behind him. Speak of the devil and he will appear, right? But, he was here to learn, not gossip about potential drug addicts. So, he's gonna put Parker and his secrets behind him, and focus on his work. 

As it turns out, nothing is that easy. Now, Harley was stuck with him for a project. He's gonna be stuck doing all the work, isn't he? Ugh.   
"Hey, uh- Harley, right?" spoke a voice, meek, and sweet.   
"That's my name, don't wear it out," Harley responds, not even bothering to look up.   
"Right, sorry, so, I don't know if you already had like, a plan, or something about what you wanted to do for the project, and I mean that's okay and all, but maybe if you didn't-" Parker rambles, and Harley finally looks up at him. Harley had seen him of course, but never actually took the time to look at him. He certainly didn't look like a hardened criminal. He had wide and endearing deep brown eyes, creamy white skin, and freckles dotted around his nose. His hair was a soft brown, in delicate curls, and the only noticeable marking was a small cut under his eye.   
"So, yeah, if you didn't already have a topic, I think aerodynamics of wasps would be cool." Peter finishes, oblivious to the revelations Harley just had.   
"Sounds good to me, honey bee," Harley said in response  
"Oh! Okay. Does Thursday after school work for you?" Parker offered.  
"Sounds like a plan. does the Library work for you?" Harley remarks,   
"Sounds Good!" Peter said, flashing a smile. A smile that was so genuine the Harley wondered how he ever thought he was an asshole.  
Now, Harley is no expert, but that already felt like an above-average amount of unexpected things happened in the last 24 hours, so expecting the rest of the day to be relatively unremarkable seemed reasonable. It was not. Now, Harley was not sure what he was expecting when a student transferred into his English class, apparently skipping a grade. The big reveal, however, was that apparently, he was spider-man. Of course, Harley immediately was weary, as spidey was a very secretive person, so telling an entire class of high-schoolers didn't seem wise. Plus, the dude was around the same height as spidey. He looked a little wider built and his voice was a little off. So, not spidey. Harley would agree with that sentiment, except when Flash asked why he should believe him. And the kid, David, showed spider-mans web shooters on his wrists. Spidey was the only person who had that technology, so the only way David would have them is if he was spidey. David was spider-man, his friend, and his partner.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yes it’s finally here! it’s a little less polished but i’m proud of the progression of the story

Peter thought he had today under control. I mean, he didn't have any broken bones today, he met someone who wasn't afraid of them, and he ate with Mrs. Malich! That was a great day in his book, of course, he should have known that wouldn't last, he thought as he heard the kid, Daniel? David? Douchebag Mcgee? How he got a pair of Mark III web-shooters was also a concern because he should NOT have those, if he ever tries using a web... well, hopefully, he isn't dumb enough to try. There is no way he has webfluid either. Jesus Christ, Peter is not ready to deal with this. Mr. Stark is going to kill him, dead, on the spot. How did he end up with sensitive technology? 

PARKER'S ONLY FRIENDS  
not spider-man: hi friends that i love so much we   
not spider-man: need to start a   
not spider-man: (italics) a investigation  
not black cat: we're your only friends. You better love us.   
not gwanda: bro what are we investigating?   
not spider-man : some kid got some webshooters and they're pretending to be me and thats,, not good  
not haryy osborn: dude i hate you  
not harry osborn: how did you loose sensitive technology  
not spider-man : i d i d n o t  
not spider-man: do you see the problem here  
not gwanda: you are so fucked  
not spider-man: t h a n k s gwen  
not black cat: what about lover boy?  
not spider-man: i am not telling him. nope. because how would i know what was going on i n a high-school classroom unless i myself was a student??  
not harry osborn: because its identity fraud???  
not spider-man: shut up ur dad is the goblin  
not harry osborn: yes and urs is dead  
not spider-man: fine i'll do it myself >:(  
everyone is typing...

Alright, looks like Peter is on his own . not ideal, but, he's been spider-man since he was 13, he can handle some kid. "Yo, Parker." Flash says, sliding into the seat next to peter, "How'd a kid steal your identity?" he says nonchalantly, while throwing a stress ball up and down. "Flash, dude, quiet down!" Peter reprimands   
"Why? they're all talking to "Spider-man"," Flash says, using air quotes around the word Spider-man, nodding his head to the group gathered around Douche Boy.  
"Oh no." Peter bleated, looking at the crowd  
"So? what are you gonna do? how are you gonna fix this mess?" Flash challenged, squinting his eyes  
"I'm gonna expose his ruse" peter affirmed, as he stood to join the crowd. Of course, he had to figure out how to make his classmates doubt the impostor without revealing the truth. Now that he thinks about it, He really should wait and think of plan. I mean, he can't compromise his identity because this kid wants to be popular, so yeah his gonna just go. As Peter turns around to leave, he feels someone wrap their arm around his shoulder, pulling him in to the group. Given his reputation as an asshole who does shady shit, this was not an expected outcome. I mean, yeah Spidey is popular but not popular enough for a bunch of teenagers to forget that they don't like him. The most surprising part is when he actually looks at the culprit, it was Harley mcfucking Keener. Resident cool dude at Midtown. Despite having worked with Mr. Stark, he hadn't met the boy before today. Peter has eyes, however, and is able to recognize that Keener is one good looking man. His smile was bright enough to outshine the sun, he had a southern accent which made Peter absolutely insane for him, he wasn't just in Midtown because he was Tony Stark's son because he was a absolute genius, and he was really, really, really funny. So, Peter was nursing a crush on the boy. Which shouldn't have been a problem except now he was shoulder to shoulder with him.  
"Now isn't the time to be anxious, Parker," Harley drawls, smiling at Peter.  
"I am not anxious," Peter argues, earning a slight chuckle from Harley, "But even if I was, he isn't actually Spidey." Peter finishes.   
"C'mon, you can't be sure he isn't!" harley argues, elbowing peter slightly.  
"I'm pretty sure, anyway, I don't even have anything to ask him about," He argues, and at this point,peter has accepted his is gonna be stuck here no matter what. Damn Keener and his stupid smile.  
"Any other questions?" The fake-spidey implores, giving Peter the perfect opportunity to ask something. So he puffs his chest out, and says, "Yeah, I've got one."  
Silence fell over the group after hearing Peter say something, which, awkward.  
"Well, go on then." Douche Kid jeered,   
"How did you account for the force of the initial pull to make sure it didn't rip your shoulder out? How about the force applied to the buildings? how did you make sure the surface wouldn't tear of or break due to the pressure from your body weight and the speed? How did you design the webs to make them strong enough to hold you, another person, and adapt to the speeds that you're going? How did you make sure that it would dissolve but not quick enough that anyone you incapacitate won't get away?" Peter scrutinized.   
"Oh, well, you see," the kid gulps, obviously not prepared for a question of that nature, "That's a secret." he answered, seeming pleased with he response  
"Oh, like your identity?" Peter sassed.   
"Well, uh, i guess, it's too complicated?" he questioned  
"You don't seem so sure, and, I think I can keep up." he jeered. For a moment, Peter just stared at the kid, as if too tell Fake-spidey he was onto him, he knew he was bluffing. Then someone in the crowd coughed, reminding him that he was just Peter Parker, loner assface. Maybe he should have kept his mouth shut, and the kid didn't deserve being humiliated. The class lapped into a awkward silence till Harley, being the godsend he is, finally said "So, if 4 out of 5 people suffer from constipation, does that mean one enjoys it?" earning a few giggles and interrupting the silence long enough for everyone to go back to normal. Peter, exceeding his word limit for today, saw this as the perfect opportunity to escape. The teacher was busy listening to whatever his name is, meaning Peter just took the pass and slid out of the classroom. Simple, right? Except now there is a variable in his school life named Harley Keener, who followed him out. So, this might as well happen.   
"You didn't have to follow me, Keener." Peter declared, without slowing down.  
"Maybe I wanted to." Harley protests, catching up with him.  
"You should think twice about being seen with me, it'll be terrible for your social life" Peter quipped with a slight smile,  
"It's worth it, Angel." Harley remarks, flashing a smile. A smile that made Peter feel like he ate a pigeon who was now flapping his wings in his stomach. The pair fall into a comfortable silence until they reach the library.   
"You know," Harley starts as he enters, "I've never actually been in the library." Harley says, in a soft voice.  
"Really? I spend more time here than i'd like to admit," Peter divulged  
"Well, lead the way Sweetheart." Harley says, gesturing to the shelves.

Later, Peter reminisces on this moment as he waits for Felcia at Mugsy Coffee, sitting at one of the chipped and cracked tables. He picked the one closest to the exit, and with a good view of all entrances. He idly picked at the nail polish of the week, a deep blue that almost looked black. Peter never liked the polish looking... perfect. He always chipped them because it felt like it matched him. Not broken, but not whole either. Which was and oddly poetic thought to have in a poorly lit coffee shop at 4pm on a Tuesday. Felicia had a habit of being late, and Peter had already waited 15 minutes, so he might as well get a coffee. Peter grabbed his phone from his pocket, the back left of course, and opened his messages.  
NOT BLACK CAT  
you gonna be here soon?  
uh, 20 tops  
i hate you. so much.  
No <3  
I'm sorry though, dads lawyers came back.  
Disgusting. ur usual?  
you know me so well, pete.

Peter sighed, with a slight smile dancing on his lips. He pocketed his phone and stood to order coffee. He walked over to the counter to order.   
"One large iced butter pecan, and a large black cold brew, please." Peter said, without one um! As he waited for his drinks, he surveyed the café. Peter always needed to be aware of every single detail of his surroundings. Peter's eyes stopped at one table where, low and behold, Harley Keener was sitting. He was sitting with a girl with soft caramel skin, long curly brown hair, and a green jacket with embroidery. Next to her was a boy with black straight hair and a joyful expression. He was also wearing a star wars shirt which got Peter's stamp of approval, not that it mattered. The last person at the table took Peter less then a second to recognize. It was David. Ugh. It took all of Peter's willpower not to go and put on the suit and swing by. But, he wouldn't humiliate the kid. He only had so much though, and decided it wouldn't hurt to listen in.   
"-but for real, what was the one dude's problem with me? like... i don't know what I did." David lamented,  
"I mean, I think he was just suspicious. I don't think he meant any wrong." Harley countered,  
"C'mon dude, this is Parker we're talking about" Star wars shirt says, exasperated. Which, ouch.  
"MJ, you gotta at least be on my side here. All we know about him is from the grape vine." Keener replied  
"I mean, he ditched Liz and is friends with flash, so, I'm partial to the asshole stance" The girl-MJ answers.  
Peter stopped listening. He knew he was hated but man, it sucked to hear sometimes. Keener seemed to think he wasn't so bad at least. He could go up to the table. I mean, he did actually need something from Keener. Peter ponders this before deciding that Felicia would tell him to,  
"Order for Peter?" the barista called, prompting Peter to put his plan in motion. He grabbed both drinks, taking a sip of his. Butter Pecan was a criminally underappreciated flavor. He takes a deep breath an walks over to Keener's table.   
"Uh, i'm really really sorry to bother you guys," he starts, "But, Uh," he turns to look at Harley "Do you have some way I could contact you in case something comes up during the project" He inquires nervously.   
"Oh, of course!" Harley responds, smiling up at him. Peter smiles back, almost forgetting the 6 eyes glaring daggers at him. Keyword being almost.  
"What Project?" MJ asks, giving him a scrutinizing glare. He gulps under her stare,  
"We have to do- um, a, um, project for biomechanics 2 on aerodynamics." Peter stuttered out, feeling nervous.   
"You're actually doing work?" She jabs, which, wow. She never even met him before today and she already had a pretty strong opinion on him.  
"Yes! of course, i mean, it is a pair project and-" he bleated, stopping when Harley hands him a piece of napkin with his number   
"Here ya are, Sugar." He Beamed  
"Thank You! So much!" Peter exclaimed!  
The pair smiled at each other.  
"I'm uh waiting for my f-, someone, and I uh better go but thank you, uh for not just, ignoring me, i guess." He stumbles over his words, but as he finished, The bell rings indicating that someone entered. It was Felica, so Peter went over to her as soon as she stepped in, handing over her coffee and leading her back to their table. The two fall into a friendly banter, chatting even after their coffees are long gone. Peter has had so much happen today, so the familiarity of this was good. Except, once Harley Keener seems to be invading all parts of his life.  
Peter knew his friends left almost 15 minutes ago, and he was still sitting there. He didn't question it until he came up to his table.   
"Hey, sorry for interrupting your date-" Harley says,  
earning laughs from both felica and Peter,  
"Not a date, i'm way out of pete's league." Felica banters  
"Oh! I'm sorry for assuming!" Harley responds, surprisingly heartfelt, "I was just apologizing for my friends behavior earlier." He remarked, softly smiling at Peter.   
"It's alright, you aren't at fault for their actions." Peter assures him, adding "You can sit for a little if you want?" while gesturing at the empty chair. Surprisingly, Harley takes his offer and joins Their discussion on Trolli Commercials.   
Later, after stopping by the hospital with some Thai for May, Peter heads out on Patrol. Today though, Doc Ock was in a mood, and decided he was going to cause some problems.  
"Come on Doc, I though we got this sorted out." Peter whines, as he swings over to the scene. Now, peter has seen a lot in his short 16 years. Space, dying, funerals, super powers, the whole shebang. However, Today he saw Doc Ock protecting people. "Hey Doc, nice to see you back to normal" Peter yells smiling, "Whats the problem?" he asks  
"There is, a, Being, on the 45th Floor of that building. I can't identify it. Be careful, arachnid." Ock responds nodding to the Building across the street. Peter isn't really sure what he's going into right now, and could use some back up.  
Thankfully, Iron Lad just showed up  
"Isn't doc ock, like your nemsis?" Laddie questions   
"Nah, he was a good dude and had something happening. He's helping clear out Civilians." Peter corrects, receiving a snort in response. Peter finally locates an entrance, and turns to Laddie.  
"We have no idea what we're going into, so you be prepared for anything" Peter warns, ripping of the vent.


End file.
